Washington Wizards: 3 Things to Watch For Against the Brooklyn Nets

The Washington Wizards head to Brooklyn on Friday night in hopes of picking up winning ways again

The Washington Wizards (11-17) and Brooklyn Nets (11-18) are streaking in different directions right now: The Wizards have dropped three games in a row while the Nets have won three straight. Both teams now find themselves nearly tied in their efforts to climb back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture with the Wizards 1.5 games back from the 8-seed and the Nets 2 games out. Needless to say, this is not where the Wizards pictured themselves at the beginning of the season.

Washington will be hoping for a repeat result of when the teams met at Capital One Arena less than two weeks ago. The Wizards comfortably won 102-88 behind 30 points and 11 assists from John Wall and 22 points from Bradley Beal. That started a three-game win streak for the Wizards who have since stumbled with losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers, and most recently in overtime to the Boston Celtics at home on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, the Nets have beat two of the best teams in the Eastern Conference in the past week, taking down the Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers in close games.

The Nets have no one near the top-end talent that the Wizards have on their roster, but have been able to piece together an impressive season and playing teams tough. The Wizards, for the most part, have made a habit of playing to their opponents’ level. At this point, Washington can’t afford to give away games to teams like the Nets if they want to make the playoffs, let alone rise in the standings.

Even though the Wizards lost a heart-breaker on Wednesday night, the team sounded more encouraged than usual about their performance. They proved they can hang with the Celtics.

Let’s take a look at three items to look out for when the Wizards take the floor in Brooklyn on Friday.